Google Ads is removing campaign-level language targeting settings from Search campaigns and Search inventory within Performance Max.
The change, rolling out in late September, shifts more responsibility for language matching to Google’s automated signals.
For advertisers, that raises questions about how multilingual campaigns will work, what happens to existing campaign structures, and where language targeting has been used for more specialized purposes.
Here’s what advertisers need to know about the change, how Google says it will work, and the questions that still remain.
What’s Changing With Language Targeting
Currently, Google uses both campaign settings and its own language signals to determine whether a Search ad is eligible to serve.
Advertisers select one or more languages at the campaign level. Google separately determines which languages a user understands based on signals such as query language, user settings and other signals derived by Google AI.
Google also checks whether the user can understand the language of the ad and landing page.
Starting in late September, the campaign-level language setting will be removed for Search and AI Max for Search campaigns. Instead, Google will rely on the language of the creative and landing page, along with its existing understanding of the languages a user knows.
For Performance Max campaigns, language targeting will also be affected for Google Search:
- Google Search: Campaign-level language will no longer be used, and language matching will function the same as Search campaigns.
- Other channels: Campaign-level language setting will still be used.
How Google Will Prioritize Multiple Languages
The other part of the update involves accounts where more than one language is eligible.
If Google determines that a user understands both English and Spanish, for example, ads in either language could qualify. Google’s stronger AI-based ad group prioritization will then determine which language is the better match for the search.
When the query has a clear language, Google will prioritize an ad and landing page in that language when an eligible option is available.
This can get tricky for Brand searches, though. A brand name may be identical across several languages, giving Google little language information from the query itself. In those cases, Google says it will rely on its other language signals and prioritize the user’s preferred language.
For a user who regularly searches in both English and Spanish, that could now make ads in either language eligible.
Google says the change should also reduce campaign setups that unintentionally restrict relevant traffic. If a campaign currently targets one language but contains ads or landing pages in another, the campaign setting can prevent users from qualifying even when Google believes they understand the language of the ad.
Advertisers using the Google Ads API will need to account for the change as well. Google recommends that developers stop sending language criteria when creating or updating Search campaigns. Existing language criteria can remain, but they will no longer influence Search targeting.
Google says advertisers don’t need to restructure existing campaigns because of the update. Accounts that separate English, Spanish or other languages into individual campaigns can continue using those structures, with Google relying on their creative and landing-page languages as matching signals.
That covers many of the ways advertisers use language targeting today. Other more specialized use cases are less settled.
Advertisers Raise Questions About More Nuanced Use Cases
Google says the update will continue to support nearly all current language targeting use cases. During a virtual roundtable I participated in ahead of the announcement, advertisers had the opportunity to ask Google how the change would work in more nuanced scenarios.
Several questions focused on situations where advertisers use language settings for more than matching ads to users who understand that language.
Regulated Advertisers Question How To Document Delivery
During the roundtable, advertisers in regulated industries raised a certain concern around compliance.
An insurance advertiser, for example, may need to demonstrate that its ads are available equitably across English- and Spanish-speaking audiences.
Google said that providing ads in both English and Spanish signals the advertiser’s intent to reach both groups. Its systems can then determine which users understand each language and select an eligible ad accordingly.
However, the question raised during the roundtable went beyond intent. Advertisers also wanted to know how they could prove how ads were delivered when Google, rather than the campaign setting, determines language eligibility for each user.
That part of the question remains open.
Google didn’t announce additional language reporting that would show advertisers which languages were served or how performance differed by language.
That visibility could become important for advertisers that need to document delivery decisions for regulatory or internal compliance purposes.
AI Max Creates Another Multilingual Scenario
Advertisers also asked how the change interacts with AI Max and automatically generated creative.
One example focused on an AI Max campaign targeting Quebec. If asset generation produces French creative based on the advertiser’s inputs and other campaign signals, could that French ad serve when a user searches in English?
Google confirmed that it could.
Creative generation happens first. Then, Google applies its language comprehension checks to determine whether the user understands the available ad and landing page.
The language of the query doesn’t have to match the language of the ad. An English search could therefore trigger a French ad when Google determines the user understands French and its prioritization system selects that creative.
Google’s responses provided more detail about how its systems will make these language decisions. The roundtable also showed where advertisers currently rely on the campaign setting for controls or documentation that Google’s automated matching doesn’t directly replace.
What This Means For Advertisers
For the vast majority of advertisers, this update shouldn’t require major changes or concern.
Google says existing campaigns don’t need to be restructured, including accounts that separate campaigns by language. There is no reason to combine those campaigns simply because the language setting is disappearing from Search.
The accounts that deserve a closer review are those using language targeting for more than its primary purpose.
Certain industries like travel, international and regulated advertisers should understand what role the setting currently plays in their campaigns. If it helps control audience eligibility or supports compliance requirements, its removal could have a more noticeable impact.
For everyone else, the focus should be on the basics. Make sure ads and landing pages use the intended languages, particularly in multilingual campaigns and those using AI-generated assets.
Once the change rolls out, monitor performance before making broader adjustments. International and multilingual advertisers should pay particular attention to search terms, geographic traffic and any changes in who appears to be entering their campaigns.
What To Watch After The Rollout
Google emphasized during the advertiser roundtable that removing the campaign-level setting shouldn’t fundamentally change how language matching behaves today.
As Google put it, “the way things are behaving now aren’t changing.”
Advertisers should pay attention to whether traffic patterns change once Google relies on its own language signals without the additional campaign-level setting. That includes any unexpected shifts in search terms, geographic traffic or the languages associated with incoming users.
If performance and audience composition remain relatively consistent, Google’s argument that the setting was largely redundant will have more support.
The less conventional use cases may take longer to sort out, particularly where advertisers previously relied on the setting as an additional layer of audience control.
Featured image: Elnur / Shutterstock
